chuckography

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Me in Space..... Mission Accomplished!

June, 2010 is when I signed up with NASA to be on the last flight of a space shuttle.

I was aboard DISCOVERY on its last historic mission.

Well, not exactly all of me was "on board."

Just my face.

Along with 27,000 others who submitted photos to NASA to be part of the "Face In Space" program.

More than 10,000 were in the U.S. while 500 were in Spain.

And, reports NASA, one was in Cambodia?

We wanted our photo to be "out of this world."

I'm sure most were young students, encouraged to take part by their Science or homeroom teacher.

Me? I'm just a space nut who had watched the Discovery launch on August 30, 1984.

I was working for the Florida Division of Tourism.

I arrived before dawn at the Kennedy Space Center to watch what was then simply called 41D.

The final launch date was originally set for September 16, 2010.

We "space faces" were told we could request an official NASA certificate on September 25, 2010.

The flight was delayed until this month and flew flawlessly into history.

The oldest shuttle's next stop is Washington at the Smithsonian.

I remembered today to go look for my space credentials.

(Clicking on the pictures will show a larger image and you'll be able to read the document. I have no idea why I suddenly thought of this today. Glad I did find my Face place in the Space race. Ouch.) Thanks for dropping in.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

15 Seconds of Fame...

Musicians occasionally invite people to join them on stage for a few minutes.

Sometimes a guy is offered a chance to play his guitar.

But, usually it's the ladies who climb up to dance.

Some look embarrassed. Some are pretty good.

Every now and then, one steals the show!

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings exploded their 60s & 70s Funk/Soul sound at the Music Farm Friday night. Sharon nodded to security to allow a half dozen fans to share her stage for a few moments to wiggle and shake.

The last dancer REALLY worked it!

Sharon brought her 8-piece band - and two back-up singers - to Charleston and packed the Farm.

The music pounded almost non-stop. For two solid hours.

The wildly enthusiastic crowd clapped and shouted as Ms. Jones channeled James Brown and other R&B stars.

Lots of his songs. Many of his moves. More than matching his high energy. Yikes.

My Funky needs were fulfilled.

(Click the pix for details. It was great leaning against the front of the stage at the Farm as Sharon worked it back and forth. I was exhausted! Thanks for checking out my 401st entry.)

Friday, March 25, 2011

400th BLOG. Yikes.

Yes. That is James Taylor in concert in Columbia a few days ago. Still in fine voice.

His Sweet Baby James album came out in 1970 with the intensely personal song "Fire & Rain."

He sang the title song as well as "Fire" and "Carolina On My Mind" but not "Steam Roller."

His "Special Guest" on the stage was his son Ben Taylor.

Singing, playing and banter was good from his barefoot boy.

The 63-year old dad broke his left leg skiing last week and quipped he was doing fine "thanks to some great chemistry." Ben added "Guess we should stop saying 'break a leg.'"

There were wooden stools on stage but both stood up to play and sing as well.Earlier in the day I stopped at the Columbia Museum of Art.

Enjoyed 2 hours of time tumbling through the 60s, 70s and 80s.

No picture-taking was allowed inside but here's the poster out front with Punk stars The Ramones.

This classic shot captured a moment at Eric's Club in Liverpool,1977.

Get over to Columbia before this goes away.

The Beatles, Janis Joplin, baby-faced Keith Richardson and The Stones, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire, Kurt Cobain...all these and more were caught in front of these cameras.

Richard Avedon on his 1961 shot of the Everly Brothers: "A portrait is not a likeness....but an opinion."

Outrageous album covers were being imagined and created long before Photoshop.

Officials in Morocco were reluctant to allow placing actual giant inflated red balloons along the top of sand dunes at dawn but that was the vision of the album designer.

The funniest part of this looking back experience was using my Smartphone and GPS guidance system to find these places.

(Click images for detail. Koger Center for the Arts was aggressive enforcing no cameras..but only on the front row! Flashes going off all around the hall and my little non-flash camera acted as a magnet. Easy-to-get-to rules enforcement.)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Night time Photography...

The Red Bull Illume tour started in Dublin, then Houston, Texas and now is here in Charleston on Marion Square.

Only at night.

The unique exhibit of enlarged back-lighted photos was turned on Friday and will be on display evenings from 7:00pm to 11:00pm through Sunday March 27.

My photography group was offered 10 VIP tickets to the opening and we brought our cameras.

Well, DUH. Of course we did.

The challenge, as twilight turned very dark, was to find a balance to show the brightly-lighted images and the people viewing them.

As you'll see on the link, the troops did a fine job of capturing the unique setting.

Kevin Harp, a co-coordinator for the group, probably surprised the sponsors with his use of a silhouetted skateboarder.

Fellow member Dee posed to seemingly "pluck" the airborne skater with her fingers.

This exhibit is very family-friendly.

Parents pushing strollers.

Eager kids crowding close to the images.

There's even one in 3-D and the familiar red and blue glasses are provided.

The only nude shot I saw was from Spain.

It was tastefully presented.

Apparently after a race of some sort, the winner is "de-panted" and tossed into the water.

It looked like the tide was low.

(Click on the photos for details. And click on the group link to see more pictures taken that evening.Go to Marion Square to see this unusual exhibit before it leaves town for Miami. Thanks for stopping by.)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Music Venue...it takes a Village.

It's still in Mount Pleasant on Johnnie Dodds Blvd but the new owners have refurbished the "old" Village and have a great new attitude.

Last November they gutted the place, knocked out walls to make it more open and used their band connections to get the music re-started.

You can even have a cold draft beer now.

And the old "bar food" idea was scrapped to make way for Gourmet Burgers and such.

The day I stopped by David Warren was often on his cell doing what a Booking Manager does best...lining up the live entertainment.

John Morlan, the General Manager, toured me around, showing where walls had been pushed back or removed and the sizable sound booth they had created.

"We ran all the connecting wires down along the wall to the stage area and enclosed them with a bar foot rest," said Morlan.

It's been a few years since I stopped in to have a beer and listen to a regional band but I plan to keep tabs on who's coming to the Village.

They were moving the couches down to the area in front of the stage as I was leaving.

Get there early for a comfy seat down front.

(Click twice on the picture to see details. Their plan is to have shows that start early. I like that! Music beginning at 10:30 or 11:00 has you out in traffic in the wee hours of the morning. Tough on a "school night." Thanks for stopping by my blog.)

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Have a "Candlestick" telephone?

But it also was NOT a hand-held computer and could not give me driving directions from point A to point B.

I never really wanted a new "phone" because my Tracfone ($7 a month) was fine for the last 6-7 years.

Also the minutes I bought would accumulate and I had built up a surplus of 300 minutes. Oh, and I didn't want to sign a 2-year contract.

The LG Optimus V 2.2 from Virgin Mobil/Sprint cost $149, has no contract and, for $25 a month, I have unlimited internet, unlimited text/messaging and 300 phone minutes.

I canceled my phone package deal through Comcast and no longer have a "stationary" phone at home. Yikes.

Pretty gutsy for a 70-year old guy.

This model is described online as a very good entry-level (some reviews said mid-level) Smartphone and has a lot of bells and whistles which are outlandish to my baby-steps mind.

I used the WiFi hotspot to activate my netbook - because I could - and set up a secure line naming it after a local bar. THAT will confuse the people in the trailer parks all around me.

The GPS talked me down a street I remembered as being a dead end but saw it has been opened and paved and now is a short cut I use often.

The calendar that syncs with my computer is awesome and I wonder how I survived juggling paper desk calendars for so many years.

The "swipe motion" keyboard is easier than learning to type at my age. Two-fingers on each hand have worked for years (40wpm!) and I have never texted (done a text message) ever.I'm babbling on because it is all so new to me.

Obviously I have seen people with Blackberries and they always looked happy with an inner glow.

I saw an ad for a retro handset so I had to have that.

I haven't seen one for a retro 'stick phone.

Yet.

(Click on the pictures to see them larger.

The 'stick phone image was found on the internet but the others were taken by me. Did I mention I really like high tech?

Saturday, March 05, 2011

"Kitty" Boyd,.... a cat's adventure.

My young cat is known right now as "Kitty Boyd" in the records at the Spay & Neuter Center on Remount Road in North Charleston.

The small feline is in the system and I am to go back Sunday at 10:00am for pickup.

I saw in the paperwork that dogs will be returned wearing the "Cone O' Shame" inverted lamp shade to keep them from licking the surgical site but I'm not sure if young orange tabby cats will be likewise embarrassed.

I WILL know tomorrow if the gender is female, how much it weighs andits approximate age.

They decide the age by looking at the condition of the teeth. The sexual determination is probably less complicated.

They told me "Kitty" could eat plenty of Kibble last night... but only until 8pm. We had to make sure things were ready for the surgery today.

It all would be packed up and leave town later that night. In big trucks.

Down to Florida then out to Texas and Colorado. Up the coast of California and into Canada. Diesel is already at $3.56 a gallon. Yikes.

I'm glad he chose to stop in South Carolina.

(Click on the pictures for more detail. My Canon S90 digital still camera was pretty busy but a fellow nearby making a long video was escorted out by security. James Taylor will be in Columbia Wednesday March 23. I'm glad I don't shoot video.)